Machine for treating tobacco-leaves



(No Medel.)

J. W. PRIES. Y MACHINE FOR TREATING TOBACCO LEAVES.

No. 534,147. Patented Feb. l2, 1895.

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UNITED .STATES `Priftueivrv GFFICE.

-JoHN w. FRIES, or SALEM, NORTH' cARoL'rNA,

MACHINE FOR TREATINej TOBACCO-LEAVES.

:ECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,14*?dated February 12, 1895.

Application sieri Abrir 7,1894.

zen of the United States', residing at Salem,v `1n the county of Forsyth andStateof North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Machines for Treating Tobacco-Leaves, of which t the. following is a specification. vi f Y My invention relates to machines for treatlng leaf tobacco, and consists in various features hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings,-Figure1 is a'plan view of one form of machine for carrying out my in-r vention, and Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view on the line 2-.2fi l A indicates a suitable frame, and'B a table from or onto which the leaves are fed by hand, by endless belt, or inany other suitable manner, to the rollers C, G and D, D arranged in pairs and driven by suitable belts 1, 1, and Theserollers .incline toward each e other at their inner ends so that when'the leaf is presented to them in a flattened condition,

with the large end or butt of the stem foremost, they tend to spread out the leaf, brushlng or spreadmg, and relieve, it of wrinkles and folds. In order, however, that these rollers may not .bruise the leaf, they will advisablyA be maden p of a series of disks of cotton cloth clamped upon the shaft, with thin washers interposed at two or more points, thereby giving a surface similar to the ordinary cloth bufing wheel. n I do' notcontine myself to such rolls, nor claim that they are the best for the purpose, butractual tests show that they perform admirably the function for which they are designed,=spreading or brushing out the leaf gently and kindly without bruising or tearing, and feeding it firmly but gently to the stein-reducing rollers E and F., These e two rollers E and F are arranged parallel with each other, with their meeting edges preferablyin the same horizontal plane as themeeting/edges of the rolls C and D; but the lower roller F has a greater peripheral speed than the roller E. RollerE will advisably be made of steel or a fine grade of iron, while the roller F may be made of cast iron, and while I have previously spoken of the meeting edges of the rollers, it is not to be understood that'they actually touch each other, but that they will be set far enough apart to permit the body of sam No. 506,749. (No man.)

, the leafto passk between them without having its web torn or bruised.l These rollers E, F

or mashed, as will also the larger fibers of the leaf. O wing, however, to the differential speedY of the rollers, the stemis not only crushed or broken down, but is thoroughly disintegrated,

so thatthe stem is reduced to a condition resembling a sticky powder, which becomes im;l `pacted upon andadheres to the lower roll F. It vis removed from thelatter-by'means of a scraper bwhile the 'material that adheres to roller-.E is removed by means of a scraper a. The latter is hardly necessary, however, as there is little disposition of the matters to adhere to the steel roll.

VDirectly behind the roller F is a rotary brush G made of cloth, bristles, tine wire, or other suitable soft material, designed to pick up the leaf as it comes fromthe rollers E and F, and deposit it into a suitable receptacle K, which in that case will be placed near tothe brush; or to carry it on to be subsequently treated, as req uired,-the stem being so impacted upon roll F as not to be removed by this soft brush.

In any event, the` receptacle K will preferably be placed upon a revolving stand or table, so that the leaves may be placed in the can or receptacle in an even and orderly manner.

In order to apply the licorice or other sweetening to the leaf,-w`nich operation is technically called casingfd-as it leaves therollers E, F, I arrange the brush to deliver the leaf to a metallic roller H which is lpartially immersed in a tank I containing licorice kept at the proper temperature and consistence by means of a steam pipe c, the quantity of licorice carried up by the roller being regulated bya doctor or scraper d. As the leaf is passed onto the roller H it is coated with licorice on the underside, the upper side or face of the leaf being also coated by means of a roller .I

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tween these rolls, those portions of the roller A J not covered bythe leaves, will'take up and hold the licorice like a sponge, and deliver it to the faces of the leaves as theyipass beneath it.

A scraper e serves to remove the leaf from the upper roll J in ease it should adhere to the latter, While the rotating blade roller L takes the leaf from the roller II and delivers it into the can or receptacle K.

The various rollers E, F, H and J, and the strippers or stripping rollers Gand L will be driven by suitable gearing, preferably from the shaft of roller F which is provided with a belt wheel M; but as this gearing is susceptible of so many variations, no detailed description of that shown is deemed necessary. It might be mentioned, however, that in the machine illustrated, achain 3 drives the brush G and roller H; that the roller J and stripper Lare driven by suitable gears from the said roller 1I; and that the roller E is driven by suitable gears from the roller F.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. In a machine for treating tobacco leaves, the combination of two rollers arranged to revolve at dilerent peripheral speeds and in proximity, said rollers being formed of materials of different superficial hardness and texture, substantially asand for the purpose Specified.

2. In a machine for removing the stems from tobacco leaves, the combination with a bed or table B; of the feed rollers C and D inclined toward each other at their inner ends and xed in relation to the bed; means for rotating the said rollers; and rollers E and F arranged in position to receive the leaf as it passes from the feed rollers, substantially as shownand described.

3. In a machine for stemming tobacco leaves, the rollers E and F placed close together' and having different peripheral speeds, the roller E being made with a hard smooth surface and the roller F having a coarser surface.

4. In combination with the rollers E and F rotating at different speeds; the stripping roller G arranged in proximity to the roller F for removing the leaf from thelatter; and the scraper a in proximity to the roller E for removing the crushed stem therefrom.

5. In combination with the stemming-rollers E, F, and the coating-rollers H, J, the interposed rotary stripping brush G. 

